Kim Jong Un: Japanese media reported on Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had arrived in Russia for what the Kremlin said would be a thorough talk with President Vladimir Putin despite warnings from Washington that they should not agree to an arms deal. According to Tuesday’s state-run media in the North, Kim and the foreign minister boarded his private train on Sunday and departed Pyongyang for Russia.
The Journey to Khasan Station and Its Implications
A train carrying Kim had arrived at Khasan station, the primary rail hub for North Koreans travelling to Russia’s Far East, according to a report from the Japanese Kyodo news agency on Tuesday, which cited an anonymous Russian official source. “It will be a full-fledged visit,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “There will be negotiations between two delegations, and after that, if necessary, the leaders will continue their communication in a one-on-one format.” The Khasan government representative who was asked about the reports of Kim’s visit declined to comment. Putin was planned to attend the Eastern Economic Forum’s main session, which continues through Wednesday, and was due to arrive in Vladivostok on Tuesday. Although the venue and Kim’s attendance at the event have not been confirmed, it was anticipated that his talks with Kim would take place outside of the forum.
The Controversy Surrounding Kim Jong Un and Putin’s Talks
US officials, who were the first to predict the visit, claimed that North Korea and Russia were actively moving forward in their arms negotiations and that Kim and Putin would probably talk about supplying Russia with weapons for the war in Ukraine. Both Pyongyang and Moscow have denied that North Korea will give Russia armaments, whose enormous arsenals have been depleted over the course of the conflict’s more than 18-month duration. Kim was reportedly accompanied by senior members of the ruling Workers’ Party, government, and armed forces, according to North Korea’s official KCNA news agency. Recent indications of increased military collaboration between Russia and the nuclear-armed North have alarmed Washington and its allies. Putin and Kim last met in 2019, thus this will be their second meeting.
Key Figures Suggest a Focus on Defense Cooperation
According to one analyst, the North Korean team includes key party officials who oversee military and defense-related matters, such as Jo Chun Ryong, director of the Munitions industrial Department, which raises the possibility that the visit would centre on fostering defence industrial cooperation. “The presence of Jo Chun Ryong indicates that North Korea and Russia will conclude some type of agreement for munitions purchases,” said Michael Madden, a North Korea leadership expert at the Washington-based Stimson Center. State media images showed hundreds of people waving flowers and flags as Kim boarded the dark-green train, which is thought to be armoured and carry other sophisticated equipment, as well as military honour guards and civilians dressed in dark suits and bright gowns. As the train approached the Russian border on Monday, Washington warned Pyongyang once more not to transfer Russia any weapons that might be used in the conflict in Ukraine.
DPRK Urged to Uphold Commitments on Arms Sales to Russia
“We urge the DPRK to abide by the public commitments that Pyongyang has made to not provide or sell arms to Russia,” said Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council. The acronym DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which is the North’s official name. According to the US State Department, any transfer of armaments from North Korea to Russia would be against many resolutions of the UN Security Council that forbid any exchange of arms with North Korea. “We, of course, have aggressively enforced our sanctions against entities that fund Russia’s war effort, and we will continue to enforce those sanctions and will not hesitate to impose new sanctions appropriately,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.
Examining Kim Jong Un’s Backing of Russia Amid Ukraine Crisis
Since the invasion of Ukraine last year, North Korea is one of the few nations to publicly back Russia, and Putin promised last week to “expand bilateral ties in all respects in a planned way by pooling efforts”. When Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Pyongyang in July, Kim personally gave him a tour of an armaments expo as a sign of their growing friendship. They also stood together to observe a military parade that featured outlawed ballistic missiles. Even as late as 2017, Russia and China had cast votes in favour of UN Security Council resolutions sanctioning North Korea for firing ballistic missiles and conducting underground nuclear tests. According to Peskov, the primary subject of Putin and Kim’s talks would be their bilateral relations with their neighbouring nations. We’ll keep developing our friendship, Peskov stated.
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